About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1 Emp. Resp. & Rts. J. 1 (1988)

handle is hein.journals/emprrj1 and id is 1 raw text is: Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1988

Introductory Statement
One of the most evolutionary relationships in our society has been that between
the employer and employee. The relationship has adapted to each sociopolitical stage
in American history, influenced by both public and private forces. Each stage has
been represented by a change in the balance of rights and responsibilities between
the employer and employee. While at one time an employee could be discharged at
the whim of an employer, today there is greater likelihood of government and state
statutes constraining that former inherent right of the employer. The pendulum
has swung from a period in which the employer owed no responsibility to an em-
ployee, other than salary, to an era in which employers are considerably more respon-
sible for the safety and welfare of their employees. This swing of the pendulum
reflected by the shift in rights and responsibilities between the employer and employee
has occurred over a period of years, and yet few have paused to reflect on or analyze
the impact such changes have had on the employer-employee relationship. What ef-
fect have such shifts had on employee productivity, on industrial justice, on job satis-
faction levels, on the total work environment?
While regulations and expectations over the last several decades have mandated
that employers, more and more, accord employees rights, benefits, and privileges
not previously enjoyed, do employees reciprocate with more productivity and more
loyalty? As workers enjoy more benefits, questions are raised concerning output-
has it increased commensurate with increased rights? Should increased rights be de-
pendent on increased output?
Examples of areas in which employee responsibilities and rights have shifted
dramatically over the last half century include occupational safety and health, equal
employment opportunity, erosion of the employment-at-will doctrine, labor-
management cooperation, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, so-
cial security, pension benefits, and the right to organize collectively. The emphatic
shift in American labor policy from employer autonomy to employee rights suggests
major changes in the employer-employee relationship. Clearly, such a shift implies
sociopolitical support for such changes not necessarily dictated by economic condi-
tions, or despite them. Ethical as well as economic, political, and social issues may
be raised in connection with the shift in employee rights. Furthermore, changes in
the relationship between employers and employees raise questions concerning the em-
ployees' responsibilities as well as their rights. The new rights imply or have been
accompanied by new -or at least changed --responsibilities. This leads to the ques-
tion of the linkage between employee responsibilities and rights. Rights and respon-
sibilities interact, and, presumably, there are optimum combinations of them for
individuals, organizations, and society.
0892-7545/88/0300-0001$06.00/0 © 1988 Plenum Publishing Corporation

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most